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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23705137">my girl's a switchblade</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/catrasadoras/pseuds/catrasadoras'>catrasadoras</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alcohol, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Awkward Adora, Blood and Injury, Catra curses a lot, Catra's a badass vigilante and Adora is gay, Childhood Trauma, Crime Fighting, Doctor Adora, Drugs, F/F, Fist Fights, Flirty Catra, Fluff, Gang Violence, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Kissing, Mostly fluff tbh the angst comes from heavy topics, POV Alternating, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, References to Drugs, Slow Burn, Swearing, Trauma, Vigilante Catra</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-04-17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-04-17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-02 19:49:03</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>11,360</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23705137</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/catrasadoras/pseuds/catrasadoras</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>"Ow!" Adora has never had a heart attack before but she thinks she came pretty close when she heard the lump talk. "You stepped on me." Adora almost passes out as she sees the dark shadow shift into a sitting up position, hissing - literally - as they do so. Adora doesn't really know what to do, or say, so she just blurts the first thing that comes to her mind. </p><p>"Wh... why are you just lying on the ground of an alleyway?!" Adora asks. </p><p>Adora's life is turned even more upside down when she becomes somehow entangled with the infamous Bright Moon Vigilante. Catra makes a new partner in crime with the cute ER doctor who keeps patching her up when she becomes invested in her mission to take down the Horde Crime Syndicate. Together they realise they're on a mission to make Bright Moon a better place for everyone and join forces to help those who really need them the most. </p><p>And maybe they fall for one other.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Adora &amp; Catra (She-Ra), Adora/Catra (She-Ra), catradora - Relationship</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>240</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>my girl's a switchblade</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Yes I am sarting another fic before I've finished my others but this wouldn't leave me and I had to get it down. This was inspired by the amazing fics The Devil Is In (The Details) by SeasInkarnadine and Rythm &amp; Blues by MalachiWalker. Those fics are beautiful and I 100% recommend them. </p><p>Just fyi this fic might get dark in places but between you and me Adora and Catra's realtionship will mostly be angst free, most of the angst will come from the issues they have going on in their lives and maybe they might get frustrated with one another here and there but I promise there will be a happy ending. I sincerely hope you enjoy the first chapter of what I've dubbed Vigilante AU as much as I enjoyed writing it &lt;3</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>"Entrapta!" Catra yells into her earpiece as she blocks a fist flying right for her face. "I need a way out of here, </span>
  <em>
    <span>now</span>
  </em>
  <span>!" Catra manages to dodge a series of blows, side stepping with ease. She grins at the goon's confused expression when his fist meets air. She taps him on the shoulder and he turns, bewildered. "Too slow." She teases before winding her fist back and decking the guy in the face. Her knuckles burned from the impact but at least one of those guys was out of her way. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Entrapta's working on it boss." Catra hears Scorpia's voice and groans, catching a guy's fist and gut punching him, he collapses on the ground, struggling to breathe and that's when Catra kicks his chest so he lands on his back. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Well work faster dammit, I'm good, </span>
  <em>
    <span>damn</span>
  </em>
  <span> I'm good," She observes her work, five guys down, just two more to go. "but I'm sick of hitting Horde goons in the face and I need to get this- for fuck sake, just get me out of here!" The one guy rushes at her and Catra leaps into the air. When fighting, her biggest advantage is her agility, well, that and her claws but she tries to avoid using them since they could do some serious damage and Catra's a lot of things, and she has killed people before, but she’s not a killer, not anymore. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She sees a flash of blood, the sick warmth on her hands, the dark laughter and she loses herself to it. It’s only for a moment but it’s a moment too long. The guy she had been gunning for grabs her tail and yanks. Catra hisses in pain. </span>
  <em>
    <span>That fucking hurt.</span>
  </em>
  <span> No one seems to understand that her tail is her most sensitive part of her body, along with her ears, or maybe they do and that's why they always try to yank or stamp on it in fights. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Low blow. </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Her claws extend without her permission but before she can do anything the other goon rushes her from the side and Catra sees something glint in the lowlight before she feels an explosion of pain in her chest. Catra's knocked off her feet and she wheezes as she realises that fucker just whacked her with a goddamn metal bat. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Talk about playing dirty. </span>
  </em>
  <span>Her ribs are screaming, her lungs too, like they're in a competition for who can kill her first. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Catra pushes herself up and grips her ribs, she clenches her teeth together in pain and a mewl escapes her lips before she can stop it. "Pathetic." One of the men says. "You ever heard of the saying, there's more than one way to skin a cat? Let's see if there's truth to that." Catra looks to her right to see him pull a knife from his waist. Catra rolls her eyes and snorts then immediately regrets that when pain shoots through her chest. She's less winded now, her ribs still ache terribly but she's been through worse - god, she has been through so much </span>
  <em>
    <span>worse</span>
  </em>
  <span>. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Nice villain line, here I thought you were shit for brains." Catra grunts as she adjusts herself into a kneeling position still holding one hand to her chest. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Why Weaver ever thought you were useful I'll never know," The guy who had hit her with the bat was talking now. Catra ignores him and pushes herself to her feet finally, still hunched over from the pain but breathing a lot better. "dirty fucking Magicat, she should've left you to die in whatever gutter she scooped you out of." He spits on the ground at Catra's feet and Catra stares at it. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Traitorous bitch," The other goon starts now and Catra's ear twitches as it changes direction. They're circling her now and Catra's mind kicks into gear. Her agility is severely impaired right now, thanks to asshole number two getting the jump on her, and asshole number one had a knife, apparently, so running at him was a bad idea - especially when Catra isn't sure she can move fast enough now with her injured ribs. Her tail twitches as her synapses in her brain go into overdrive. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Catra, shit, you used to be one of the Horde's top captains, now look at you." </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Fellas, you know," Catra begins, smirking as a plan forms clearly in her head. "if this was a movie this would be the part where I give you inspirational speeches about how I left the Horde because it's rotten to the core and killing the city, blah blah blah, inspirational music and lighting," She sees them exchange looks and Catra has to choke down her laugh at it. "but this isn't the movies, so spare me the dramatic villainous insults and I'll spare you the inspirational speech." She shifts her weight towards her left where dumbass number one is approaching from and she hopes, against all hope, she has one more agile move up her sleeve - with a little bit of luck this shit should work. Catra grits her teeth together. Ripping their throats out was always an option, with claws or her teeth, though probably not a good idea given Catra's now strict no killing rule, though maiming? Totally not off the table. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They both smirk at each other before they turn their attention to Catra. Catra's ear twitches as she hears the movement to her right where asshole number two was coming from. She holds out for just a moment then ducks. The asshole swings and that little bit of luck that Catra needed is granted to her because the guy swings in a sweeping fashion, rather than downwards, meaning his arch completely misses Catra and smacks asshole number one right in the face. Catra's ribs protest but she ignores them. She pounces onto asshole number two before he can realise he just knocked his buddy out cold. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She lands on his chest, knocking the bat from his hands, it clatters on the concrete ground and Catra's eyes shine with anger. She feels that rage, that </span>
  <em>
    <span>darkness</span>
  </em>
  <span>, that lives inside her pressing against her bruised ribs trying to claw its way out. It would be so easy. He just tried to kill her, why shouldn't she return the favour? Catra growls and extends her claws, she goes directly for the throat. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"</span>
  <em>
    <span>Wait</span>
  </em>
  <span>!" He yelps. Catra stops dead. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Blood so much blood.</span>
  </em>
  <span> "Wait, please, I'll tell you what you want to know." Catra was breathing hard. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Where did she just go?</span>
  </em>
  <span> She growls, low, before she grabs the guy by the lapels of his Horde issued jacket. She slams him against the wall and holds her claws to his throat. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"You're damn right you will." She grunts, pressing just a little to draw blood. Even the little amount makes her nose itch with the scent of copper and her stomach to churn. "Where the </span>
  <em>
    <span>fuck</span>
  </em>
  <span> is Shadow Weaver producing all this black Garnet Dust and how the fuck is it being supplied?" Catra asks, raising her eyebrows. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Look, all I know is, Lashor took your spot as top dog after you defected and took like half of Weaver’s crew, Hordak was pissed at her so she ordered more than we can supply." He rushes and Catra's ears press back against her head. She grabs him by the jacket and slams him against the wall again. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"So what? This Lashor guy is just producing bad shit to meet the demands? Do you have any idea how many kids have died from this bad batch of drugs?!" Catra snarls at him and he actually looks like he might start crying. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Good</span>
  </em>
  <span>. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Look man, I just do what I'm told, I'm not in the position to question orders." He says and Catra sighs. </span>
  <em>
    <span>That's true. No one ever is.</span>
  </em>
  <span> Even as a Captain Catra had been on a tight leash, Shadow Weaver liked to treat her as some glorified pet - glorified killer pet. Catra shudders. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Can't go to the dark place right now. Business is at hand. </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Tell me where to find Lashor." Catra demands. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"I don't know-" He begins, only to be cut off when Catra's hand crushes his throat. His hands fly up and claw at Catra's wrist but it's no use, not with those pathetic blunt human nails. What was it he had said? Dirty Magicat? Like she was weak? Well this Magicat could tear his windpipe out without breaking a sweat. She's getting angry. She needs to stop. She loosens her grip and tuts at him in disappointment, shaking her head. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Try again." She says. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"I swear!" He gasps as Catra's grip loosens so he can talk. "Lashor is the top guy, you really think I'm in contact with him? He's with the snakes, that's all I know." Catra huffs. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"I believe you." She says before she hits him with her fist knocking him out. If Lashor was with the snakes maybe Rogelio could use his old contacts to track some lead to him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Catra pushes herself to her feet and winces. "Fuck me with a pineapple, my ribs are killing me." Catra grunts, side stepping the bodies that littered the floor. With no one chasing her she decides the window is her best escape. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Are you okay Wildcat?" Scorpia's voice asks. Catra grunts as she pushes herself over the window ledge and drops onto the fire escape. She begins climbing them up. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Just peachy," Catra responds sarcastically. "tell Entrapta I'm firing her." </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"I can hear you, but I must say that seems illogical, I'm the only person here who knows how to hack and decrypt." Entrapta cuts in.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Fine, but next time finding me a route out of there would be nice." </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Perhaps," She admits and Catra rolls her eyes, that's about as much of an apology Catra will ever get from Entrapta. She just considers the possibilities, weighs up how things could have turned out and which one she thinks was the best outcome. "but I knew that by staying you might extract more information than the drive you recovered." </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Well you weren't wrong," Catra admits. She reaches the roof and walks towards the ledge. "but my ribs don't thank you for that." Catra hisses as she makes the leap across buildings. Usually it's effortless but with her injuries she knows getting back to the safehouse is going to be near impossible. "Plus, did you just admit that you purposely didn't give me a route out of there?" Silence. “</span>
  <em>
    <span>Entrapta</span>
  </em>
  <span>!" Catra yells, suddenly angry. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"I don't understand your tone, your Magicat reflexes meant you were perfectly capable of taking on those human assailants." Entrapta responds and Catra groans so loud she swears someone turns their apartment light on. She's about a block from the scene now, edging out of the Fright Zone and towards Bright Moon’s more upper class sector. She’d circle back when she was sure she didn't have a tail... as in someone following her, she most definitely has a tail. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Okay, next time, </span>
  <em>
    <span>listen</span>
  </em>
  <span> to what I say? Maybe then I wouldn't have throbbing ribs." She couldn't building hop anymore. She had to have her feet on the ground, or she was possibly going to fall. She hops onto a fire escape again and starts going down. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>When she reaches the alleyway her chest feels like it's on fire and the weight of her hand on it feels more like a slap then a comforting touch. "Hey Scorp, I'm just gonna.... lay down for a minute." Catra mumbles. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"I don't think that's such a good idea, Wildcat." Scorpia responds with worry. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"I'll be fine, I just... need a minute." Catra trails to the middle of the alleyway. She looks left, then she looks right. No one nearby, perfect, well, not </span>
  <em>
    <span>perfect</span>
  </em>
  <span> perfect, it was still an alleyway, but Catra needed to lay down for a moment otherwise she might actually pass out. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She ignores the fact that the ground is damp off the rainfall and lies on her back, staring up at the sky. At night the smog from the city is a little less, plus upper Bright Moon tended to be less industrialised, which meant that Catra could make out the stars. It was dark still but she knew it was probably about early hours in the morning, she was nocturnal so as the day approached she could feel her energy beginning to sap. "Wildcat? </span>
  <em>
    <span>Wildcat</span>
  </em>
  <span>!" The shouting in her ear damn well nearly gives Catra a heart attack. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Scorpia, chill, I'll be okay. Promise." And then, because she doesn't want to be interrupted again, she switches her ear piece off. She just lies there until she slowly drifts off, her ribs throbbing steadily.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>
    <em>//</em>
  </b>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Adora was exhausted, she'd just finished the night shift, meaning it was early hours in the morning, and she just wanted to get home and crash; of course, with the seasons dipping towards winter, the mornings and nights were dark. It also so happened that everyone decided to be idiots at night and injure themselves, meaning the ER had been packed and she'd been on her feet all day. Looking back on it, Adora thinks maybe it was a twist of fate that pushed her to take that shortcut because had she decided not to brave the dark alleyway she never would have met </span>
  <em>
    <span>her</span>
  </em>
  <span>. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Adora pauses at the alleyway entrance, clutching her backpack strap with one hand. It's not like she had anything of value on her, her ID, like twenty bucks and her phone, all technically replaceable, and not capital </span>
  <em>
    <span>I</span>
  </em>
  <span> important should she get mugged in this alleyway, but she was wondering if the risk was worth the benefit. The shortcut would knock only about ten minutes off her walk time but that was ten minutes less on her feet and Adora wanted those precious ten minutes more than she wanted anything in her life. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>The more you stand here wondering the more those ten minutes will dwindle and you'll just be an idiot. </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Adora sighs. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Realistically, if someone wanted to mug her, they could do it on the street too. It's dark and there's barely anyone around, plus Bright Moon - as shiny and pretty as it was in the morning - was kind of creepy at night, especially the more you strayed from the fancier parts, so mugging on the street was not out of the question. "Screw it." Adora decides to risk it. She might as well.</span>
  <em>
    <span> Hey, if she dies all those student loans for med school vanish too, right? </span>
  </em>
  <span>Adora snorts. In all fairness, the alleyway still has some light, though it’s minimal, mostly just lights of the emergency exits which were mandatory to pretty much every building, but enough light for Adora to know no one was lurking in the shadows. It was pretty straight and narrow, excluding the dumpsters and clutter dumped there. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She's about halfway through the alleyway when her feet hit something solid and Adora has only the split second to realise she's about to commit the most epic of face plants before she extends her hands and adjusts so her shoulder takes the brunt of her weight. She curses as the pavement bites into the flesh of her soft palms but it was by far better than her chipping a tooth. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"</span>
  <em>
    <span>Ow!</span>
  </em>
  <span>" Adora has never had a heart attack before but she thinks she came pretty close when she heard the lump talk. "You stepped on me." Adora almost passes out as she sees the dark shadow shift into a sitting up position, hissing - </span>
  <em>
    <span>literally</span>
  </em>
  <span> - as they do so. Adora doesn't really know what to do, or say, so she just blurts the first thing that comes to her mind. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Wh... why are you just lying on the ground of an alleyway?!" Adora asks. The shadowy figure hisses again as she adjusts her position. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"That's a long story." They reply. The person moves their head in her direction and Adora gasps when she sees a pair of mismatched eyes, a beautiful gold and blue, blinking at her from behind a hood. "I was taking a rest." They say, their voice is husky and Adora wonders briefly if it's possible to be attracted to a voice alone. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Oh," Adora says, the realisation that this person could be anyone and their situation is unknown to her. "that makes.... sense?" The person, which Adora is almost certain is a woman given her tone of voice, snorts at her. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Ow!" She yelps. "Don't make me laugh, it hurts." Adora's brows knit together in a frown as she turns to look at her. With her eyes adjusting to the darkness she can make her out a little better. Her face is still obscured by the hood but she can see a hand is pressed to her ribs. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Wait, let me just..." Adora digs into her pocket and pulls out her phone. She swipes up and turns the flashlight on. It's then that Adora notices two things: one, the ears poking out of two holes in the woman's hoodie which flatten back as she hisses in the sudden bright light and two, this woman, whoever she is, is seriously beautiful. Now that the light is on Adora can see a lot more of her face, her jawline is sharp, her eyes are vivid and stark in the dark, and in the light of Adora’s torch, that Adora feels she might get lost in them if she wasn't careful. She was wearing all black, which probably explained why Adora hadn't seen her, she was wearing a leather jacket, of which underneath was a hoodie, the hood of which was pulled up, obscuring her face, and on her bottom half she was wearing ripped skinny jeans but most strangely she was bare footed. Well, not completely strange when Adora thinks about it because, upon closer inspection, she can see the woman is covered in a fine layer of fur and she realises with a start that she's not human. "You're-" </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"A hybrid, yeah." The woman finishes Adora's sentence and Adora swallows hard. She's met hybrids before, they're a part of their world after all, she's even treated a few but it was rare. Adora's aware that most places have prejudice against hybrids, she never really understood that. Something brushes Adora's ankle and she looks to see a tail. "I'm a Magicat, if that at all matters to you." </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"It does if I'm going to take a look at your ribs." Adora says seriously. The woman, Adora doesn't know her name but she wants to, </span>
  <em>
    <span>oh how she wants to</span>
  </em>
  <span>, looks at her in surprise. Her tail fluffs too which Adora admits is kind of cute. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Excuse me?" She asks and Adora rolls her eyes. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"You're holding your chest, implying you're hurt, so let me see. I'm an ER doctor, I can help." Adora explains. The woman looks at her like she can't believe what she's hearing. Adora gets a bitter taste in her mouth at that. So many hybrids put off coming to the ER because, and she hates to admit it, so many doctors will dismiss them, or they'll not be prepared to treat them. "I'm fully trained in all anatomy, Magicats and humans are actually awfully similar with a few distinct differences, mostly it's the fluff." Adora says, scooting closer. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Oh you noticed?" The woman asks and she smirks and Adora almost drops her phone because </span>
  <em>
    <span>oh dear god, she's sexy</span>
  </em>
  <span>. Her fangs flash too and Adora feels a blush creep onto her cheeks, she's thankful the phone light is pointed away from her. "What about the ears and the tail?" She asks and Adora huffs. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Lift up your shirt." She demands. The woman laughs, then whimpers as she clutches her ribcage again. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"What did I say about making me laugh!" She says though the tone is teasing and Adora actually feels her lips turning upwards. "Besides, shouldn't you buy me dinner first?" </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Let me get a look at your ribs and I'll think about the dinner after." Adora replies and she’s surprised in herself, truly, she's never been so bold but there's something about this woman, something that is familiar and just feels </span>
  <em>
    <span>right</span>
  </em>
  <span>. It's probably the ten hours of grueling work getting to Adora, she’s never met this woman, doesn't even know her name, and yet... it just feels like she's exactly where she should be right now. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"You drive a hard bargain," She responds but begins shrugging off that leather jacket. She unzips her hoodie and tosses that to one side too so she's left in only a white t-shirt and black ripped skinny jeans. Adora gives herself a moment to admire her physique. With the layers now removed, Adora could see she was lithe, skinny, but muscular, she knew she was probably powerful too, the muscles were a dead giveaway. </span>
</p><p> </p><p><span>Adora approaches and gestures to the shirt. Something else, with the hood now gone, Adora was being assaulted with beauty that made it hard for her to look at anything other than the Magicat's face. She's beautiful. </span><em><span>Like, picture the most beautiful thing you've ever seen and then times that by a hundred.</span></em> <em><span>Is it possible to fall in love with a stranger? No, but it is possible to fall in lust with them. </span></em><span>Adora shakes her head. </span><em><span>Snap out of it, this is no time for useless gay Adora.</span></em></p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The woman nods her head but her eyes narrow and she turns her head to the side. "What?” Adora asks as she begins to roll up her shirt.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Nothing." She replies, but something tells Adora it's </span>
  <em>
    <span>something</span>
  </em>
  <span>. She decides to let it go for now. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>As Adora rolls up her shirt her suspicions are correct, the stranger is just pure muscle, pure, lean, muscle. She places her hand to her abdomen and holds back a gasp at how warm and soft she is. Adora's seen Magicats before but she's never touched one, they tend to be pretty rare actually. Adora continues up until she sees the woman's compression bra, similar to a sports bra actually but Adora doesn’t let it deter her. She runs her fingers along her ribs, pressing occasionally and listening to her hisses of pain. Nothing felt out of place and if it wasn't for the fur Adora would be almost certain they were just bruised but she does wonder how exactly she injured them. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"This is going to sound wired but, usually I hate people touching me." The woman confesses in a whisper and Adora looks at her. She withdraws her hands, thinking maybe she'd made her uncomfortable, or in some way forced her to allow her to examine her, but she just looks thoughtful. "But I didn't mind that." Adora wonders if she feels it too, some kind of connection between them. She pulls her shirt down and Adora looks away briefly. This is strange, to feel such a way when she met this person literally five minutes ago. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"I'm pretty sure they're bruised, nothing much you can do about that except pain management and rest." Adora explains, she switches her phone light off as the woman pops her hoodie and jacket back on. "How did you bruise them anyway?" Adora asks. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Do you want the truth?" The Magicat asks. Her tail whips back and forth and Adora smiles at the action. She nods her head and the woman sighs. "I was fighting the Horde." Adora's eyes widen in shock. The Horde was Etheria's biggest crime syndicate known to man, Bow had told Adora how they kidnapped infants and raised them to be criminals. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>‘The </span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>Evil</span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span> Horde, I'm so glad Angella found you, imagine if one of their creepy scouts scooped you up.’ </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Adora shudders. She had been lucky indeed. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>So many Horde members were orphans, scooped up and forced into a life of crime. Adora was an orphan too, she just had the luck of Angella finding her and not the notorious Shadow Weaver. "Why..." Adora trails off. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Not to worry about that blondie, I won't burden you anymore." The woman pushes herself to her feet and holds her hand out to help Adora to her own feet. "I really must be going, I'm afraid my friend will probably be freaking out right now, but thank you." </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"</span>
  <em>
    <span>Wait!</span>
  </em>
  <span>" Adora calls, because she can't let this woman slink out of her life, not yet anyway. She grabs her backpack she'd dropped and rips it open, she pulls the bottle of pills she had stashed there out. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Where did you get these?" The woman asks, examining the pills with a raised brow. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Uh, I kind of... I told you, I’m a doctor." Adora stutters, like she could admit to stealing from the hospital, and it looks bad but, well, okay, here's the thing: Adora might, maybe, </span>
  <em>
    <span>potentially</span>
  </em>
  <span>, run an underground clinic where she helps those who can't afford to go to hospital and get the treatment they need and, sure, it might be a haven for gang members who can't go to the hospital for legal reasons, it's also neutral ground, if your enter Adora's clinic all weapons and grudges are left at the door. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The woman grins. "Interesting." She says, examining Adora. "Well, Doctor Do-Good, I really must be going." The woman turns on her heels and Adora's breath catches because staring back at her is the symbol of the Horde on her leather jacket, only it's half burnt, like an iron had been pressed to it for far too long, but something about the burn is... unusual. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>She said she was fighting the Horde. Surely it couldn't be... </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Adora rarely kept tabs on the news, given her line of work she barely had free time to do such things, but she'd heard of a vigilante, someone who wore a jacket extremely similar to the one the Magicat was wearing right now. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"It's Adora!" Adora calls after her and she pauses. She turns and looks at Adora for a long moment. Adora figures she might just dart away and leave her there which would be fine except she doesn't. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Catra." She says, before she winks. "I'll see you around, Adora." Adora would have swooned but she keeps a handle on things. How pathetic it would've looked had she collapsed at a simple wink and the sound of her name coming from the Magicat's lips except she had almost </span>
  <em>
    <span>purred</span>
  </em>
  <span> Adora's name in a tease. Not to mention that damn smirk. Adora dusts herself off. So much for saving herself those ten minutes.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>
    <em>//</em>
  </b>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>When Catra gets back the darkness is bleeding into grey light and she knows she's about to get an earful from Scorpia but all she can think about is that blonde doctor she just ran into - well, who, if you want to get technical here, ran into </span>
  <em>
    <span>her</span>
  </em>
  <span>. Catra was thankful for her enhanced vision in the dark, it meant she could make out the stranger pretty vividly and Catra would never admit this out loud but she had kind of gay panicked. The blonde - and Catra was pretty certain of the blonde part because of how bright it was compared to the darkness around them - had been stunning. Her hair was tied back in a high ponytail, her bangs swept back in a poof on the top of her head, which she sure is hard for a lot of people to pull off but she killed it, little whisps of hair had escaped from them however and her slower than usual actions for a human told Catra that she'd been on her feet for a while and was exhausted. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Truth be told, she knew the woman was a doctor instantly, or, if not a doctor, she’d definitely been to the hospital recently, because the scent of it clung to her but under the chemicals of cleanliness, of </span>
  <em>
    <span>hospital</span>
  </em>
  <span>, was a sweeter scent of vanilla and raspberries and it was intoxicating. Catra sighs at the scent, she wants to track the blonde down and bury her nose in her neck to get that scent back. Aside from that, she was clearly fit. Catra could make out her biceps even under a coat which wasn’t her fault she was wearing a red bomber jacket that hugged her biceps, maybe even </span>
  <em>
    <span>enhanced </span>
  </em>
  <span>them, or maybe Catra was just extremely gay - both are true if she’s honest. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Catra shakes her head. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Even if the doctor had piqued her interest, nothing could be done about it. Catra was alone forever, she could never drag someone into her life, into this mess, plus what were the chances she'd ever meet that woman again? Pretty much zero. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Should've gotten her number,</span>
  </em>
  <span> her brain hisses.</span>
  <em>
    <span> Shut up! </span>
  </em>
  <span>She yells back. No way, she can't, she knew taking down the Horde would be long and hard and it meant facing it alone... kind of alone. That </span>
  <em>
    <span>had</span>
  </em>
  <span> been her plan, then Lonnie had caught her in her escape and then word kind of got out to her crew and they backed her up. Catra admits, it warms her cold dead heart that they decided to join her in her mission to dismantle the Horde Syndicate once and for all. But none of those were romantic partners. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Ugh!</span>
  </em>
  
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Catra scrunches her nose. She was acting like a horny teenager, she's met this woman once and she's already got them dating? </span>
  <em>
    <span>What the fuck Catra?</span>
  </em>
  <span> But, </span>
  <em>
    <span>shit</span>
  </em>
  <span>, maybe she </span>
  <em>
    <span>is</span>
  </em>
  <span> lonely. Sure, she has her friends, and she loves them, but sometimes she misses.... </span>
  <em>
    <span>intimacy</span>
  </em>
  <span>, not that she’s ever really had that anyway, only flings, and they always blew up in some dramatic fashion but, hey, maybe the doctor could be a fling.... Now she really was acting like a horny teenage boy. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Whatever</span>
  </em>
  <span>. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She picks up her pace and sighs when she sees the old beat up warehouse waiting for her. "Thank fuck." Catra was so done. She needed a slice of pizza and a long nice sleep. Her ribs still ached but she’d managed to swallow one of those pills the blonde had given her and it was now down from a solid seven to a four. She shoulders open the door, flipping off the camera she knows someone will be watching. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>When she enters she's immediately crowded by Scorpia. "Catra! Oh thank goodness! You had me so worried! Are you okay? Do you need someone to nurse you back to health?" Scorpia asks, crowding Catra's space. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"I'm fine," Catra grumbles, brushing past the woman. "I am starving however, so I hope you saved some pizza for me." Catra says, heading straight for the little community kitchen they had stuffed in one of the corners. She sees the pizza box and almost cries when she sees two slices left. "You got extra anchovies!" Catra says, eyes widening and her mouth watering. Her stomach rumbles audibly in response to its sweet sweet smell. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Of course, I know you love them." Scorpia responds. Catra already has half a pizza in her mouth so she just throws her a thumbs up. She then starts marching over to Entrapta’s lab, taking the other slice as she polishes off her first in record breaking time. Scorpia follows after her. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She reaches one of the lower offices that Entrapta had claimed and opens the door. Entrapta's room is always so hot, it's because she has countless computers and wires, and god knows what else, in there. You can't take a step in that room without tripping over something, one time Catra even stepped on some electronic mouse. If anything though, Catra had to hand it to Entrapta, it was any cyberpunk’s wet dream. It was always dark, any windows Entrapta had blacked out with boards but it was never </span>
  <em>
    <span>really</span>
  </em>
  <span> dark. There were always the low lights of some kind of computer or machine, a neon blue coming from </span>
  <em>
    <span>somewhere</span>
  </em>
  <span>, sometimes Catra would come into this room to purposely nap, she'd lay atop some machine and the warmth, paired with the hum of the machine, was like some kind of lullaby. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>In the middle there was Entrapta at her station, wearing some strange goggles she claimed she retrofitted to ensure the multiple screens didn't damage her retinas - which to Catra just meant: lights from computers hurt eyes but the goggles stop that. Catra's eyes were apparently a little more suited, though Entrapta told her she shouldn't push her limits by staring at the screen for hours on end without the goggles and Catra was </span>
  <em>
    <span>not</span>
  </em>
  <span> about to put those goggles on so she just let Entrapta do all the tech stuff. Plus, she trusted Entrapta. Sometimes she'll withhold information, like how to escape safely from somewhere so you can get more intel, but Catra trusts she does those things in their best interests - plus she had been right after all, and it was hard to hold a grudge against her. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Catra walks up to her and hands her the drive, Entrapta takes it without even looking over her shoulder. "I said no eating in my lab." Entrapta says and Catra has no idea how she even knows Catra is eating. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Really? Because I figured you owed me and my ribs one." Catra fires back. Entrapta ignores her for a moment before she replies. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"I can agree with that assessment but in the future no consumables in my lab." Catra lets out a breath of a laugh. Wonderfully wacky is the best way she can describe Entrapta. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Can you decrypt the information on that stick?" Catra asks, dusting off her hands. She leans forward on the desk, over the top of Entrapta's shoulder. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Can a platypus lay eggs?" Entrapta asks. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"I have no idea the answer to that but I'm gonna assume it's a yes." Catra says. "Okay, well, oh, Rogelio?" Catra looks at Scorpria now. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Asleep." Scorpia answers. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"I can tell him what you need to tell him." Catra jumps almost ten feet in the air. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"</span>
  <em>
    <span>Kyle!</span>
  </em>
  <span>" Catra exclaims. "Where did you come from?" </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"I've been here the whole time." He mumbles and Catra breathes a sigh of relief as her heart rate calms down. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Sorry, uh, just when you see him ask him to start looking into Lashor, he's with the Snake Men and they tend to be more open to talking to other... lizard people. So Rog is probably the better person to pursue that lead." Catra says and Kyle nods before he swivels in his chair and continues his watching. </span>
  <em>
    <span>So Kyle was on watch duty. Nice.</span>
  </em>
  <span> "I'm gonna go get some rest. Entrapta, tell me when you've cracked that bad boy, okay?" The enthusiastic nod is the thing that tells Catra that Entrapa heard her. Catra pats Scorpia's bicep reassuringly as she exits. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Her feet were beginning to drag and her ribs were still killing her, even with the pill the doctor had given her. Catra practically drags herself up the stairs leading to her room. She’d claimed the upper office, mostly because she loved heights, a Magicat thing apparently, plus sometimes Catra liked her space. She loved her team but sometimes she just had to have her own space away from everyone else. No one had protested either, they knew sometimes Catra retreated into herself and they wanted her to have a safe space to do that. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Catra unlocks her door and stumbles in, closing and locking it behind her. Catra shrugs off her leather jacket and tosses it onto the lawn chair by her patio table. Catra was kind of surprised those hadn’t collapsed the second she sat on them but they were still holding out. You’d be surprised what people considered to be junk. Catra shrugs off her hoodie, placing that down on top of her leather jacket. She sighs, glancing around her room. It was littered with empty bottles of beer, Catra had a mini fridge shoved against one corner by the cupboards that lined one side of her room but other than the mattress on the ground in the furthest corner, probably where some factory manager’s desk had been, she had no other furniture. There was a bathroom attached to her room however, which she was secretly glad for. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Sharing with Kyle? No thanks. </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Catra walks to the bathroom, pulling her t-shirt over her head. She grabs her compression bra and pulls that over her head too, tossing it in the little hamper Scorpia had put in her room at some point. Catra stands by the mirror and turns to the side to examine the damage. It's hard to tell but Catra can </span>
  <em>
    <span>feel</span>
  </em>
  <span> the damage. She can just make out the bruises when she runs her fingers through her fur and pulls it back. Black and blue probably. She sighs. Magicats tended to heal faster than most anyway, not exceptionally so, Catra was still in for at least a couple more days of extreme pain, but she could manage it until her healing kicked in. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She turns a little too much and catches sight of the scars lining her back. It makes her feel queasy. A permanent reminder of where she comes from, who she belongs to. </span>
  <em>
    <span>No</span>
  </em>
  <span>. She doesn't belong to that woman. Catra grabs a tank top and throws it on, deciding to rock the tank and underwear look, she'd sleep bare but once Lonnie walked in on her and Catra is scarred - </span>
  <em>
    <span>never</span>
  </em>
  <span> again. She crawls into her bed and hisses as her ribs protest her position. She usually liked to sleep curled up but that didn't seem possible. Looks like she'll be forced on her back for a while. Catra sighs, closing her eyes and letting the exhaustion from the night seep into her. As she drifted off she found herself thinking about a certain blonde doctor.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>
    <em>//</em>
  </b>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>By the time Catra drags herself from her bed it's already dark again outside. She stretches and gets dressed. She'd given Entrapta ample time to crack that drive. She grabs the bottle of pills the doctor gave her, swallows one and washes it down with a shot of beer. Nothing too strong. She’s pretty sure the pretty doctor would deck her if she washed it down with anything stronger. Once she's suited up, as she liked to call it sometimes, she bounds down the stairs. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Kyle, Lonnie and Rogelio are in their semi functioning living room that had some gigantic TV screen which Catra was half convinced Entrapta just outright stole from someone. Entrapta did steal, a </span>
  <em>
    <span>lot</span>
  </em>
  <span>, often she hacked into deliveries and re-routed it to them, it was a life saver, plus they had a pile of cash from Entrapta's hacking and phishing scheme. She only ever targeted rich assholes so Catra said the more the merrier. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Fuck the rich. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Catra comes over to them and begins signing to Rogelio. "</span>
  <em>
    <span>Did Kyle fill you in on L-A-S-H-O-R</span>
  </em>
  <span>?" Catra asks, pointing at Kyle and finger spelling Lashor. He nods in reply and begins signing. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"</span>
  <em>
    <span>Already got my ear to the ground boss, not to worry.</span>
  </em>
  <span>" He smiles, or at least the thing Catra understands as his smile. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"</span>
  <em>
    <span>Good, not slacking off like these two.</span>
  </em>
  <span>" Catra smirks, knowing fine well that both Lonnie and Kyle can read her signs. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Excuse me?" Lonnie asks. "I have half the mind to skin you alive for that." </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"You can try," Catra teases. "didn't end well for that guy last night though." </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"</span>
  <em>
    <span>How are you?</span>
  </em>
  <span>" Rogelio asks. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"</span>
  <em>
    <span>I'm good, bruised ribs, nothing I can't handle.</span>
  </em>
  <span>" Catra signs back and he nods his head. They all know she's been through far worse. She bows out of </span>
  <em>
    <span>that</span>
  </em>
  <span> conversation before it can get too heavy and heads towards Entrapta's lab. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Scorpia was in the lab talking animatedly to Entrapta who was humming along occasionally. Catra pauses when she hears her name being spoken. "I'm worried about Catra." Scorpia says and Catra can clearly see her biting her claws in worry. She rolls her eyes. She wants to say she’s fine but that would blow her cover, plus her enhanced hearing had to come in handy at some point right? Besides, they were talking about </span>
  <em>
    <span>her</span>
  </em>
  <span>, it was Catra's right to hear. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"I have conducted several assessments and she seems to be okay." Entrapta responds. Catra frowns at the ‘several assessments’ part of that sentence. Sometimes Entrapta was just straight up insane. Catra wouldn't be surprised if she was secretly taking samples from Catra's hairbrush. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Maybe you're right," Scorpia says. "she just seems... she never talks about... you know." Catra tenses and her breathing becomes uneven. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Well, she has the markers of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, it's not surprising given what she went through." Entrapta says that so casually, like she hadn't just said Catra's </span>
  <em>
    <span>messed</span>
  </em>
  <span> up. Suddenly, Catra's ribs don't ache as much as her back burns hot and intense. She takes deep, steadying breaths. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Shadow Weaver isn't here. She can't hurt me anymore. </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She's fine, really, but she appreciates their worry. Catra doubles back, this time purposely making noise to alert the pair to her arrival. When Catra emerges she almost blows all of that when she nearly snorts at Scorpia's attempt to seem casual but she swallows it quickly. "So what did you find Entrapta?" Catra asks, sitting down on some sort of machine. She stretches, ignoring the stress it puts on her ribs, before she leans back and lies across the machinery. The rumble from it was like a perfect back massager and it was warm. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Secondary location, most likely the supplier of those who you faced last night." Entrapta answers. "Nothing on Lashor however." That is disappointing but at least Catra can take out another drug den and try to get to the bottom of where the hell these drugs were coming from. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Okay, cool, well, don't wait up." Catra hops to her feet and goes to exit. She notices immediately, however, that she's being followed by a certain someone. Her ears pick up her heavy footballs even when she's in her room so it's easy to hear now when she's basically right next to her. "What is it, Scorpia?" Catra asks, she pulls up her hood and whirls on her. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Nothing... Well, not </span>
  <em>
    <span>nothing</span>
  </em>
  <span> nothing," She laughs nervously and Catra raises an eyebrow. "Ah, gosh, I just... don’t you think maybe you should bring someone? You got hurt last night." </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"I'm fine," Catra says. "besides, weren't you working on some design for me? I'd really like to see it." </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"For your suit, yeah! The hood does the job but I think we should work on a mask for you and other stuff." Scorpia says. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Okay, then work on that and in the meantime I'll keep doing what I do best," At the look of uncertainty Catra sighs. "Look, Scorp, I'm okay, and beating up Horde members is as good as therapy for me, okay? I promise, if I start to flag, I'll let you know." Scorpia still looks uncertain but she nods anyway. Catra pats her on her bicep before she dips out of the safehouse. She sighs with relief once she's free. She loves those idiots, more than she's willing to admit out loud, but sometimes she gets emotionally exhausted - at least this way she can punch people rather than talk to them. Entrapta texts Catra the location. "Hmm," She muses. "might as well." </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Catra's not opposed to walking to the location but if she's honest she loves leaping the rooftops of Bright Moon. Even in the Fright Zone, the crime riddled sector of the city, it’s freeing. Her ribs still ache but not nearly as bad as they had yesterday and it hadn't been raining for once, so it was as good as time as ever. Catra sprints, leaping from rooftop to rooftop gracefully, if anyone saw her they'd have some serious questions, if Scorpia saw her doing this she's sure she'd get a lecture in physics. She remembers the mocks from people in the past </span>
  <em>
    <span>‘Cats always land on their feet right.’</span>
  </em>
  <span> Catra growls. That had led to several scraps and injuries in her Horde years, people pushing her, treating her like shit, as though Shadow Weaver wasn't enough. She closes her eyes as she leaps across a building, feeling the wind rush through her hair, the flapping of her leather jacket behind her. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Shadow Weaver. </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Catra opens her eyes, tucks and rolls. She had to beat her, take her down, and maybe it was for all the bad she was doing but it was more than that, it was </span>
  <em>
    <span>personal</span>
  </em>
  <span> and she understands Scorpia's concern but she could really do without the mother henning. She isn't some broken toy Shadow Weaver chewed up and spat back out, she's strong, she </span>
  <em>
    <span>isn't</span>
  </em>
  <span> weak, she can take care of herself. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Ugh</span>
  </em>
  <span>. She really needs to hit something. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Before Catra knows it, she's made it to the location. She glances around. She listens, carefully, trying to make out any sound but all she can hear are a few muffled voices and some boots. "Fuck it." Catra says. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"What was that Wildcat?" Catra almost has a heart attack when Scorpia's voice crackles over her earpiece. "Tell me you're not being reckless." </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"I... no Scorpia, I know what I'm doing, okay?" She grumbles. She lifts the skylight up and drops into the apartment below. She lands in a crouch, a soft thump, probably inaudible to human ears. When Catra stands she realises she's not alone. Nope. She just dropped right into the lion's den. She has five guys staring at her blankly. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Really</span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>? Right when she tells Scorpia she knows what she's doing. </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Evening gentlemen," Catra says, dusting off her jacket. "so we can do this the easy way, or the hard way?" Catra offers. The men look at one another before one rushes at her, brandishing the signature Horde weapon of a stun baton. Catra sighs, she sidesteps him easily, twists his elbow and forces him to zap himself. He crumbles and hits the floor, hard. "Hard way it is then." Catra gets into a fighting stance. Two others rush her, weaponless, Catra focuses on them, her senses going into overdrive. She excels in battle, her fight instinct is a hell of a thing, probably why Shadow Weaver picked her, and her claws are a weapon she carries with her always - for better or worse. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Get her!" Someone shouts, Catra's ears swivel in the direction. He must be the leader, she needs him, if anyone has the information she needs it’s him. Someone grabs her from behind, around her waist. She shudders. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"I'm not into men, sorry." Catra grunts as she kicks her feet against the guy approaching her, her foot claws rip his shirt and the force of her kicks pushes her backwards in the arms of the guy who had grabbed her, causing him to smack against a wall. Her bruised ribs protest a little at that but she ignores them, the feel of adrenaline through her veins pushes it from her mind anyway. She grabs the nearby stun baton. "Sorry dudes but you asked for this." She shocks her assailants then tosses it to one side. Just two left. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The guy by the desk, the leader, leaps over it, brandishing a knife. Catra's eyes widen as he thrusts it towards her. She dodges, </span>
  <em>
    <span>just</span>
  </em>
  <span>, thanking her quick reflexes otherwise she'd look like a Catra-kebab right about now. She's acutely aware she hadn't gotten away completely unscathed, if the stinging on her abdomen was anything to go by. She extends her claws and rakes them down the guy’s shoulder. "</span>
  <em>
    <span>Ah!</span>
  </em>
  <span>" He screams. Catra gives him a toothy grin, that's more of a snarl, flashing her canines. She needs the drive, there must be one here, there was one at the other place. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Before she can make another swipe at the guy she's football tackled by his buddy. Catra's breath is knocked out of her lungs at the impact and she manages to see the leader turn tail and run. Catra groans. She elbows her attacker to his ribs and kicks him off, claws and all. Unfortunately, in her haste to get up and run after the fleeing guy she hadn't accounted on said attacker catching her... by her tail. He yanks and Catra lets out an embarrassing howl of pain. </span>
  <em>
    <span>No one. Touches. Her. Tail.</span>
  </em>
  <span> She whirls on him, claws extended. The guy has half the brain to look terrified. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She leaps, sinking her claws in soft flesh. The guy screams out but Catra ignores it, pushing him to the ground as he tries and fails to get her to release him. "Why do you guys bother, you know who I am, you know what I can do, why do you even fight?" Catra muses, she hadn't exactly expected the guy to reply. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"If we don't then we get punished." He grits out through clenched teeth. That brings Catra back a little. She pulls her claws out slightly. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Shadow Weaver?" She asks. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"No, anyone, but never her." He replies and Catra pulls her claws fully out. She couches in front of him. "That was only you." He says. "I heard about it, about you." </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Yeah, well, whoever is punishing you can't come close to </span>
  <em>
    <span>her</span>
  </em>
  <span>, trust me." Catra says and, no, she hadn’t intended on having a heart to heart with a Horde member but, well, she understood - she had been a member once after all. "Look, I don’t feel like hurting you anymore, you got me good a couple of times and your injuries,” Catra gestures to his shoulders vaguely. "will prove you put up a good fight, but I still came here for a reason. A flash drive, I need this location’s." </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Oscar has it." He answers and Catra sighs, wanting to lie down and cry. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Please don't tell me that’s the guy who ran out of here before." Catra mumbles. He looks at her and Catra groans. "Entrapta, can you lock the guy down that ran out of here, I think he has the next drive on him." </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"On it!" Entrapta yells. Catra cringes. Sometimes they must forget Catra has enhanced hearing. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Catra begins searching the desk in the meantime. It's all junk. Several drugs which she pockets to destroy later. She can't believe she let him get away. That had put a damper on her mood if she was honest. She sits in the office chair and spins. She's about to tell Entrapta not to bother and they'll do some good old fashioned sleuthing to discover another location when her voice crackles over her earpiece. "Seems you injured him and I caught him on CCTV heading in the direction of an underground clinic." Entrapta says. Catra frowns. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Underground clinic? </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"How do you know that when it's an underground- You know what, dont answer that, that's a stupid question." Catra runs a hand down her face. "This clinic, should I be worried about walking in there?" </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"No I don't believe so, it's run by an ER doctor, a Dr. Adora Grayskull, it's neutral ground, or promoted to be." Except Catra didn't hear anything beyond </span>
  <em>
    <span>Adora</span>
  </em>
  <span>. She’d sat up straight at the name and her fur had fluffed. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Adora? The Adora who she’d miraculously ran into? </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p><span>"Give me the location." Catra says, walking to a nearby window. She winks at the guy still sitting on the floor before exiting. She wouldn't admit it, and if anyone asked it was strictly business, but she was looking forward to seeing this Adora again... </span><em><span>if it was even her but who the hell is called Adora?</span></em> <em><span>It has to be. Right? </span></em></p><p> </p><p>
  <b>
    <em>//</em>
  </b>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Adora was writing up some notes after she'd just dressed some guy's wound when movement on her CCTV outside the clinic caught her eye. The CCTV was a precaution, in case the police came, or worse, but what she hadn't been expecting was </span>
  <em>
    <span>her</span>
  </em>
  <span>. The woman, Catra, from the alleyway, standing in the alleyway of </span>
  <em>
    <span>her</span>
  </em>
  <span> clinic entrance, her tail lashing back and forth as she examined something. Adora couldn't see her face behind the hood she had pulled up but she'd recognise her anywhere now. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Adora stands abruptly, her stool spinning out from under her. </span>
  <em>
    <span>What the hell did she-</span>
  </em>
  <span> Adora's mind stops. She knew who Catra was and not just a sexy- </span>
  <em>
    <span>stopping that trail of thought.</span>
  </em>
  <span> The burnt Horde symbol on her back was the telltale signature of a vigilante that had been, depending who you asked, saving or terrorising Bright Moon. If the most recent person she treated was anything to go by, that's why Catra was here. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Adora walks to the hallway that leads to the clinic just as Catra enters. She looks just as amazing in the harsh white lights of the clinic overhead lights as she had in the dark. She pulls her hood down and Adora is greeted with a grin, her fangs peeking just over her lips. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Stop looking at her lips Adora!</span>
  </em>
  <span> "Hey Adora." She greets in a low husky voice that makes Adora shudder. In a good way though, a </span>
  <em>
    <span>really</span>
  </em>
  <span> good way. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Oh no, she's hot. </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>You already knew that! </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Shut up! </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Catra," Adora shakes herself out of her thoughts. "how did you... can I help you?" Adora asks. She notices that Catra is hurt, she has a slice in her hoodie over her abdomen that's soaked a little in blood, but not enough to be completely worrying, plus around her eye it looked as though she had a shiner. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"An underground clinic?" Catra asks. "Interesting, got to say I'm surprised, who knew you had it in you?" Adora doesn’t know whether to be offended by that statement or not. She comes closer and Adora is acutely aware that, </span>
  <em>
    <span>pretty girl is super close now</span>
  </em>
  <span> and she has nowhere to run to. "I mean you stole all this stuff from your hospital? That’s pretty badass." </span>
  <em>
    <span>That</span>
  </em>
  <span> gets Adora's attention.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>"I'm not stealing! I'm... </span>
  <em>
    <span>repurposing</span>
  </em>
  <span>." Adora says. Catra snorts.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Sounds like a fancy way of saying you're stealing." She says, walking further into the clinic. "Officer, I didn't steal that, I'm simply just repurposing it, I swear. I don't think that excuse would fly."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"I think they'd be more concerned with you." Adora fires back, unimpressed.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Ha! Probably." Catra admits before she turns on her heel and faces Adora again. Adora scowls at her, crossing her arms over her chest. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Why are you here Catra?" Adora asks. Not that she wasn't secretly glad to see the woman again, she hadn't been able to forget her since she tripped over her in that dark alleyway. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Well I'm glad you asked," She says with a grin and Adora hates that it's the best thing she's seen all day. "I was nearby, you know, kicking ass, being super cool," Adora rolls her eyes. "then one of the guys I was... let's say questioning, ran away. My friend tracked him here." </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"No." Adora deadpans. She brushes past Catra and into the clinic, sanitizing her hands on her way. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"No?" Catra asks and Adora hears her follow her. "Just like that? And here I thought you liked me." </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"I don't like you!" Adora squeaks. She feels her cheeks heat up because denying it just makes it seem like she does like Catra and, sure, yeah, Catra is attractive, even in the dark Adora had been captured by her beauty, and in the white lights of her underground clinic, </span>
  <em>
    <span>even</span>
  </em>
  <span> in the harsh white fluorescent light, she still looks downright gorgeous, but she doesn't like her, she barely even knows her. "Look, the clinic is neutral ground, I will not have you bringing your gang politics into this." Adora gestures vaguely around Catra who was giving her a shit eating grin. "People come here because they trust I won't ask any questions." </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"You won't be," Catra says. "I will." Adora gives her a look. Catra's lips turn up at one corner in a stupid sexy smirk and her tail swishes from side to side. Adora was considering the consequences of punching that smirk off her face... or kissing it. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Shut up Adora!</span>
  </em>
  <span> She groans and shakes her head. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Do no harm was hard when you're gay and frustrated and a very very attractive feline woman keeps smirking at you like that. </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"My answer is still no." Adora responds, sitting down on her stool which had wheels. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Hmm," Catra hums. "you know I'm gonna do it anyway." She yanks the curtains of one bed back to find it empty. Adora was starting to think she might actually have to hire bouncers. Most of the time trouble stayed away from the clinic, like she said, it was neutral ground and it wasn't just the Horde who came to get patched up, Adora helped </span>
  <em>
    <span>everyone</span>
  </em>
  <span> who needed it, they even had a semi functioning soup kitchen that Bow ran when he wasn't working at his own family restaurant. Glimmer sometimes pitched in with her trust fund money and helped Bow in the kitchen often, it had become their place to hangout after Adora practically refused to leave the place some nights until she helped everyone she possibly could. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"You know, if you get a horrible flesh eating disease because you're being unsanitary I won't help you." Adora says over her shoulder as Catra starts sniffing - yes, </span>
  <em>
    <span>sniffing</span>
  </em>
  <span> - a jacket. Catra snorts. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Would you at least come to my funeral and tell people I died doing what I loved?" She asks and Adora spins to look at her with a raised brow. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"And what exactly would that be?" Adora asks. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Flirting with cute blonde doctors while hunting a bad guy." Catra says simply. Adora.exe has stopped working. She feels herself flush and grumbles as she turns in her stool again to try and hide her blush. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Curse those goddamn white lights and her white jacket.</span>
  </em>
  <span> It's so clear she was just furiously blushing at Catra if the burning of her ears are anything to go by.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Wait, did she say flirting?!</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She hears Catra rustling around, someone gets annoyed with her snooping because they yell at her and Adora snickers when she hears Catra apologise. Adora was glad the clinic was pretty much quiet, she knew who Catra was looking for but she took that HIPAA rule seriously - even at her off the books clinic. She doesn’t stop Catra however, she doubts she could if she wanted to if she was honest. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Adora hears a curtain go flying and a guy grunt and she turns sharply to see Catra grabbing said guy by the lapels of his leather jacket. "You fucking bitch!" He snarls. Adora is on her feet in seconds and beside Catra. She watches as Catra shoves her fingers into his wound on his shoulder and Adora cringes. "Mother fuck!" He screams and Catra grunts, throwing him back. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"That’s what you get for trying to flay me like a fucking fish." Catra growls. Adora is terrified by the display but also... a little turned on honestly. "You're lucky I have a strict no killing rule." Catra says. She slaps the guy to get his attention and he snarls at her again. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"But you used to didn't you?" He asks. Catra's ear twitches and Adora sees her freeze for a moment. "Shadow Weaver’s little </span>
  <em>
    <span>pet</span>
  </em>
  <span>, you did everything she told you- </span>
  <em>
    <span>ahhh!</span>
  </em>
  <span>" Catra shoves her fingers back in his wound, causing him to yell. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Catra!" Adora warns. Catra looks behind her, right at Adora, and Adora feels a chill run down her spine. She looks like she’s there but she isn't at the same time. Then her eyes become less glassy and she looks back at her target. "His wound." Adora says lowly. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Yeah, this bitch scratched me!" The guy yells and Adora frowns at him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"You asked for it." Catra retorts. "Give me the hard drive and I'm sure Doctor Do-Good will give you some morphine for the trouble, or, I can keep prodding at your wound, your choice." The guy looks from Catra to Adora. Adora just shrugs. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Fine." He huffs. "Around my neck." Catra grabs the chain and tugs roughly, ripping it from around his neck. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"What about Lashor?" Catra asks. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"I don't know. Dude is untouchable and worse than you." He replies. Catra laughs. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Oh sweetie, no one is worse than me." Catra winks before walking away. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Catra, wash your hands." Adora orders. She pauses and looks at Adora curiously. She looks at her hand and stares for a moment before shaking her head. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Where did she just go?</span>
  </em>
  <span> She nods and Adora goes back to her patient. She redresses his wound and gives him some pain medicine to help him settle before she closes the curtain again and joins Catra. "Let me dress that wound." Adora says gesturing to Catra's abdomen. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"It's just a scratch Princess, no need to worry." Catra says dismissively. Adora gives her a serious look, putting her hands on her hips. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Sit down. Now." </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"So bossy," Catra mumbles heading to an empty bed. "maybe I find that hot." Adora chooses to ignore </span>
  <em>
    <span>that</span>
  </em>
  <span>. She grabs some supplies and her stool and slides over to Catra. She sets her tools to one side and looks at Catra who had removed her jacket now and was in only her t-shirt. Adora gestures for permission and Catra nods her assent. Adora rolls it up and prods gently at the wound. It was just a scratch, as Catra had put it, it wouldn't need stitches but proper wound care should never be ignored. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She's so </span>
  <em>
    <span>fit</span>
  </em>
  <span>. Catra is all </span>
  <em>
    <span>lean</span>
  </em>
  <span> and </span>
  <em>
    <span>mean</span>
  </em>
  <span> muscle, probably from all the fighting and running she does, but it’s impressive. Even Adora, who worked out when she could, though it was hard with everything she had going on in her life, could never achieve such precise muscular strength. Muscles with speed. And Adora doesn't doubt Catra is fast, she's read about Magicats, as well as the enhanced hearing they have incredible balance, thanks to the tail, and enhanced speed, not to mention the claws of which Adora had seen the damage they could do on that guy and that was Catra holding </span>
  <em>
    <span>back</span>
  </em>
  <span>. Catra's skinny, sure, but it's all lean </span>
  <em>
    <span>toned</span>
  </em>
  <span> muscle. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Adora clears her throat, she reaches for some medical scissors and cuts away some of the fur around the wound. "You know, it's weird." Catra says curiously. Adora raises an eyebrow in question as she grabs the medical supplies she needed to patch Catra up. "I hate people touching me, but not you." Adora hums, opening up the alcohol wipes she had and dabbing at the cut on Catra's abdomen. Catra hisses. "</span>
  <em>
    <span>Ow!</span>
  </em>
  <span> That stings." She pouts and Adora laughs. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Don't be such a baby." Adora teases before going back to work. "How come?" Adora asks and Catra looks down at her in confusion. "Why don't you like people touching you? Feel free not to answer that." Adora adds that onto the end of her question, realising that it could potentially be a personal question Catra may not want to answer. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Let's just say... it's complicated." Catra responds. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Once Adora is satisfied with her cleanup job she applies a non adhesive bandage so it wouldn't stick to Catra's fur, she imagined that would be a bitch to remove. "Can I..." Adora trails off, second guessing her question. Catra looks at her curiously while pulling her shirt back down. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Screw it.</span>
  </em>
  <span> "Can I ask what's on the hard drive? Or why you're running around being a vigilante?" Adora asks. Catra laughs and Adora feels her heart flutter. That laugh. She's heard it only once but she knows for a fact she wants to hear that sound again, forever if she could. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Well I'm sure you know I used to be a part of the Horde," Catra says. She grabs her hoodie and pulls it on. "I left after... that's too complicated to explain right now. Anyway, I used to be... I don't know, </span>
  <em>
    <span>technically</span>
  </em>
  <span> I was Shadow Weaver's right hand man, except that bitch hated me, the only reason she kept me around was to use me." Adora's heart contracts painfully at the confession and Catra looks off in the distance, like she's remembering something that Adora can't quite touch yet. "What matters is I left. Now I'm trying to take Shadow Bitch down and these hard drives are going to take me to Lashor who will take me to her and one by one I'm going to dismantle the Horde Syndicate." </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"What about Hordak? Isn't he the kingpin?" Adora asks. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Sure," Catra responds, slipping her arms into the sleeves of her leather jacket which clings impressively to her biceps. "Hordak is the top dog technically but he's fucked without Shadow Weaver, dude has no clue what he's doing, it's kinda pathetic." Catra explains and Adora thinks that makes sense. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"My foster mom is the chief of police, I'm sure they arrested someone recently from the Horde, some snake guy." Adora says while she was putting her supplies away. She looks at Catra when she hears a sudden </span>
  <em>
    <span>‘mmrrp’</span>
  </em>
  <span> to see Catra's ears had perked up and her tail was swishing anxiously and fluffed up - it was kind of adorable actually. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Did he have a drive on him?" Catra asks, standing up abruptly. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Uh, I don't know, why?" Adora asks. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Lashor he's with the Snake Men and his whole inner circle are lizard people, or whatever. The chances this Horde member has info on him is pretty high." Catra explains, then she grins and Adora freezes. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Whatever you're thinking, no." Adora deadpans walking away to go clean up. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"</span>
  <em>
    <span>Adorrrrrra</span>
  </em>
  <span>." Catra says with a big stupid pout and the rolling of the ‘r’ was like a purr. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Lord give me strength. </span>
  </em>
  <span>"I just need to see the evidence they bagged." Catra says. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"That's </span>
  <em>
    <span>literally</span>
  </em>
  <span> impossible!" Adora says and Catra frowns at her. Adora hates that she spots her fangs over her lips and that it reminds her how cute Catra is. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Come on Adora, look at this place, I know you've got a rebellious streak," Catra says. "and I know you want to help people. Help </span>
  <em>
    <span>me</span>
  </em>
  <span>. Taking down the Horde helps keep everyone safe. Whatever drugs they've been cooking are bad, kids die from this shit. I need to pursue all the leads I get and this is a golden goose, </span>
  <em>
    <span>please</span>
  </em>
  <span> help me, </span>
  <em>
    <span>please</span>
  </em>
  <span>." Adora shields herself from the puppy dog eyes Catra was giving her. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Ugh</span>
  </em>
  <span>. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Catra, even if I wanted to help, it would literally be impossible. I'm a doctor, not a cop." Adora says. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Okay but your foster mom, just say you're visiting her." </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"You want me to lie to Angella? No, absolutely not." Adora says, shaking her head. Lying makes her feel queasy. "I can't lie, well, I can lie but I'm really bad at it, like, </span>
  <em>
    <span>really</span>
  </em>
  <span> bad at it." Adora explains and Catra chuckles. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Don't worry Princess, I'll help you out," Catra says casually, grinning before she gives Adora wide saucer looking eyes. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Shit</span>
  </em>
  <span>. "Please! I'll owe you one." </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Ugh, you're the worst." Adora grumbles. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"You know if you don't help me I'll just do it on my own which will include a lot more fist to face action." Catra says. Adora turns on her and glares. She thinks about that. Helping Catra was probably one of the better options here, plus, well, Catra had called it, she did want to help, she had this underground clinic for a reason. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Fine. I'll help you." Adora agrees. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Yes!" Catra throws her hands up in celebration and her tail goes crazy. Adora finds herself smiling, it's actually incredibly endearing. "Don't worry Princess, I'll leave the Horde jacket at home. I won't blow your cover." Catra says, backing away towards the exit. "Unless you want me too." Catra winks suggestively before she turns and runs. Adora's jaw almost hits the floor. Catra leaves her wondering what the hell she'd gotten herself into here. It's only when Catra is gone does Adora realise they didn't set a time or place and she has no clue if Catra has a phone, or anything really, to get in contact with her. She almost smacks her head off the counter at that slip up.</span>
</p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Sorry for any spelling and/or grammar mistakes! Thank you for reading! Feel free to validate me by dropping a comment/kudos and come say hi on my Twitter @catrasadoras :)!</p></blockquote></div></div>
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